Song the Mariner
Song the Mariner is one of the great figures of Oyashiman history. He lived between 471 b.s.r and 405 b.s.r., and helped to bring Oyashima into better contact with the rest of Gernon. Early Life Song was the son of a lower bureaucrat in the Oyashiman government, and grew up in relative happiness. He was found to be amazingly intelligent, so his father made sure to get him the best tutors available. By the age of 20, Song was shown to be a capable administrator and financier. He was highly successful and married the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Mariner days During much of his life he showed a great interest in ships, and the complete lack of foreign maps to be found in Oyashima, and pushed for appointment on a ship to pursue foreign sources of income. His father in law offered to allow use of one of his ships(as the government's navy was very ill equipped during this period of isolationism) if a grant for a crew was supplied by the government, and his request was accepted. First mission Song's first excursion was to the nearby Spice Coast. When the small ship with its unusual sails arrived in the ports, the local spicers were intensely surprised, as all Oyashimans had forbidden landing of spicer ships for centuries. Song made contact with the Sephoran Prince and sold his small gargo of silks, cotton, and several suits of armor. He gained a full hold of pepper and saffron, as well as a comprehensive map of the Spice Coast. On his return, the foreign spices were a huge hit, and after realizing from the first half selling so fast, the heightened prices of the second half brought a small fortune for both Song's family and the government. Second Mission After his first great success, Song was outfitted with a new larger envoy. This new envoy would have 10 large ships full of items for trade, as well as a sizable chunk of silver and gold. On this mission, Song would visit each of the spicer cities, and spent several weeks studying ship building at Amaline. He took a great liking to the foreign ship building techniques, and bought several blueprints. Over the next two years on Oyashima, other navigators were sent on missions to the Spice Coast while Song supervised the production of new ships. He is credited with inventing a brand new type of sail, that when combined with spicer ship design made for incredibly maneuverable ships. Third Mission Song's third mission was not only mercantilistic, but was his first great exploration mission. While the spicers had long traded around Gernon, their maps were limited on the coastline of the Oyashima Sea, often sailing in more open seas to reach the Calyan Delta. Song first stopped in Sephora to sell his hold (keeping only his silver to buy whatever he found to the west), but only gained food provisions while there, and would spend the next year mapping much of the Oyashima Sea. It was during this mission that Song first visited Calyan, and gained knowledge of the goddess Desna from some monks in the city, whose church he would eventually convert to and whose faith he would bring to Oyashima. From there he travelled back to Oyashima. Fourth Mission - 430 b.s.r. Song now knew from his travels that there was nearly no knowledge of the coast west of Calyan, even amongst the continental Gernans. He took a small fleet for a purely exploratory mission, leaving trade in the hands of an apprentice of great skill. From the northern islands of the archipelago Song set out once again to Calyan, and from there moved on west. He found several small fishing villages at first, but found very little settlements after the first 100 miles west of Calyan. Keeping close tabs on the coast, he was the first to survey this land. Eventually he made his way all the way to the southern tip of the Magros Mountain range, and was the first Gernon to discover the Last Coast. After rounding the coast's peninsula, he decided that there could be nothing else to gain after so much time away from human contact, and decided to go home. From his cartographic work on this trip he published the world's first full map of the Oyashima Sea and the surrounding coastline. His map is still used by many sailors after the scientarian revolution. Later years After his years of travel, Song settled down more, only taking sailing missions when the mission was particularly interesting or if a particular ruler wished to meet the great Mariner who opened trade with Oyashima. In 410 b.s.r., he made a pleasure trip to Kuroseki, and was one of the first Oyashimans to see the city. Song died five years later from a stroke, and is buried in a grand tomb in Akihito. Category:Oyashimans